Chapter 11 Overwhelming Wealth Beckons: The Temperament of the Nobles

News circulating in the palace always has a peculiar characteristic—you really won't hear it when you're not paying attention or caring.

But if you are a "thoughtful person" and make a point of investigating, you'll be able to hear more and more true and false information than you can count.

Ah Zhu didn't care at all about the news in the palace during the late emperor's time, after all, the current emperor and all the concubines in the harem were already keeping her busy enough.

Instead of wasting time gathering information, she would have been better off listening to the likes and dislikes of the nobles, and seeing which palace masters were easy to get along with or generous with their money...

But ever since she learned that her time in the Cold Palace wasn't a case of her own hysteria, but rather the existence of a real Consort Feng, A-Zhu became very concerned.

In terms of action, A-Zhu's initiative is absolutely top-notch—in this palace, the maids often travel between various departments, such as the Imperial Treasury, the Imperial Clothing Department, and the Imperial Kitchen, to perform their daily duties. The more places they come into contact with, the more opportunities they have.

Generally speaking, as long as it's not illegal, presumptuous, or a unique and rare treasure, you can get some of the other things by spending some money.

On the way to the Cold Palace carrying the food box, A-Zhu would occasionally glance at the small wooden box hidden in her sleeve, which naturally contained agarwood.

To be honest, what Ah Zhu managed to find wasn't exactly top-quality stuff, but the amount of incense powder, barely half a palm's width, was enough to make Ah Zhu, who had once again given up most of his savings, win a painful price.

Despite the pain of the expense, A-Zhu never hesitated about it.

"Give before you ask"—perhaps having seen too many different faces in the palace, A-Zhu, as if without a teacher, had precisely mastered this skill and was very good at pleasing people.

As usual, after delivering the meals to the other palaces, A-Zhu hid the food box and quietly slipped into the Pixiang Palace.

*

The scent of agarwood is quite unique.

At first, there was only a faint fragrance, which was easily overlooked. By the time you realized it, all that was left on the tip of your nose was a faint, almost imperceptible sweetness.

The scent is wonderful, and the pleasure derived from pleasing the senses is very direct.

Ah Zhu, who had been on edge because of the palace selection, was now squatting in front of a rusty incense burner, her eyes vacant and her expression relaxed, not thinking about anything.

After a moment of blankness, Ah Zhu quickly snapped back to reality, remembering exactly where she was.

She subconsciously looked around. The layout of the Cold Palace was naturally not spacious or luxurious. The simple one-room room would normally have a screen separating the bedroom for rest, but now that no one lived in the palace, there was no screen at all.

The empty room could be seen at a glance, and since the imperial concubine was nowhere to be seen, A-Zhu naturally couldn't judge whether the concubine was satisfied from her expression.

"Please forgive me, Your Majesty. Given my lowly status, I could only manage to obtain a little incense powder despite my best efforts. I don't know if Your Majesty is accustomed to using it..."

"Oh, what if I don't like this inferior incense?"

Without thinking, A-Zhu blurted out, "Please bear with Your Highness for a few days while I bring you something better."

"You can't do it now, but you'll be able to in a few days? Are you just making empty promises to amuse me?"

A-Zhu shook her head. The teenage girl blushed slightly when talking about her financial difficulties.

"This servant is still in the inner palace, without a proper job, and can't save much of her monthly allowance..."

"The day after tomorrow is the day of the palace selection. If you are selected, you will receive some reward when you pay your respects to the noble person."

The hall fell silent for a moment.

Given that Consort Feng was a figure of such stature, how many people would have fawned over her but couldn't find a way to curry favor with her?

Fragrant orchids and precious jade, golden brocade from Sichuan, and tribute pearls as large as longan, as well as crabapple trees that filled the garden almost overnight... countless rare treasures could only earn a glance from the Imperial Concubine.

Now, she has been reduced to relying on a penniless palace maid to squeeze out a little silver from others' tips to offer incense.

A-Zhu's expression was extremely serious... Even if you know she's trying to flatter you, ask yourself honestly, wouldn't you be moved at all by this almost burning sincerity?

Even the most hard-hearted old women in the inner palace were swayed by A-Zhu.

After a long silence, Consort Feng spoke again.

"Jiang Zhu, what do you want from me?"

"Are you looking to make money?"

"When I came to this Cold Palace, I didn't bring many things with me, and even more were taken away. But I still hid some of my favorite things. Do you want these?"

Upon hearing that it was a treasure even the Imperial Concubine loved, the impoverished Ah Zhu's eyes lit up. But in the end, she still shook her head with difficulty, forcing back her heartache, and said, "Your Majesty, this servant... this servant does not seek wealth."

"If you don't seek wealth, then what do you seek?"

"Let me think... You're about to be chosen as the next palace maid. Do you want to hear some palace secrets from me so you can find a good place to go?"

Ah Zhu, who had been trained by Steward Sun for nearly ten years, still shook his head.

She still insisted, "The nanny said that when the palace selection takes place, she will do her best to arrange a good place for me." Ah Zhu was in charge of the affairs.

"Ha, you don't ask for this, you don't want that, so what are you trying to achieve by fawning over me like this?!"

Just a moment ago everything was fine, but the sudden outburst of the Imperial Concubine startled A-Zhu. She stammered, "This servant...this servant does indeed have a request..."

Upon hearing this, Consort Feng calmed down once again.

"Speak, what do you want?"

Ah Zhu, who was about to ask about the "whoosh" thing, managed to suppress his impulse with his remaining rationality.

This imperial concubine is trapped here; she's practically dead, if not completely destroyed.

Consort Feng did not inquire about her affairs after death, and A-Zhu dared not speak of it, for fear of provoking the consort into a fit of rage.

If we ask whether the ghostly things on her body are related to the affairs of this empress after her death, what would be the answer?

After much deliberation, A-Zhu tentatively inquired, "Your Highness, have you ever heard a sound that others cannot hear?"

"Just like now, only this servant can hear Your Highness's voice..."

Before A-Zhu could finish speaking, Consort Feng said with a half-smile, "You want to ask if there are any other ghostly things similar to me besides myself?"

So... that doesn't seem wrong?

Seeing hope within reach, Ah Zhu nodded excitedly.

"Heh, so you think I'm hard to please, and you're looking for another master to curry favor with you."

"Jiang Zhu, you're so greedy! Aren't you afraid of overeating yourself?"

Consort Feng, who had been smiling, suddenly turned hostile.

"roll!"

"Get out!"

"Your Majesty..."

"roll!"

*

A Zhu, covered in dust and dirt, slunk out of the Pi Xiang Palace.

A-Zhu was mentally prepared for the difficulty of serving a noble person, after all, the nannies would find fault with her every few days.

Moreover, the Imperial Concubine is no longer human—or rather, she is no longer an ordinary person; her temperament has changed drastically, and it is not surprising that she is capricious and unpredictable.

Ah Zhu leaned against the door, listening to the sounds inside, and then whispered, "Your Highness, I will definitely find you some better agarwood next time."

Hearing the sounds coming from outside, Consort Feng remained silent, still somewhat disoriented from her recent emotional outburst.

Consort Feng didn't know why she, who was already dead, was still staying in the palace.

She had been living in a daze all these years, unaware of life or death... Ah Zhu was the only person who could talk to her.

But Consort Feng was not grateful to Azhu at all, nor was she excited to have someone to talk to, nor was she willing to be manipulated at will.

On the contrary, Consort Feng wanted to see Azhu make a fool of himself.

It's easy to deceive people, but difficult to deceive ghosts.

Consort Feng realized that what A-Zhu said was the truth.

It's precisely because it's the truth that this is so funny.

A palace maid, and one with such a beautiful appearance, born in this palace.

While everyone was convinced that she was full of resentment, restless, and that she was only flattering him with the intention of climbing the social ladder... she had no interest in such things at all and really only wanted to be a sixth-rank female official in charge of affairs.

Consort Feng had no idea how the head lady of the inner palace had trained A-Zhu to hold onto this idea so firmly.

But teenagers are the time when they are ignorant of the immensity of the world and have the most pride.

Even in this palace, no matter how low they bow or how loudly they kowtow, their bones, untouched by the world and repeatedly trampled upon, remain hard... They won't learn until they're bleeding from their wounds.

Do you think Consort Feng would be soft-hearted?

joke.

She was just waiting to watch a good joke to pass the time during these long, lonely, and maddening days that seemed to have no end in sight.

But now, facing A-Zhu, who went to great lengths to find perfume powder as soon as she returned and came to offer it to her so sincerely to please her... Consort Feng felt even more like she was bullying a fool, an empty-headed idiot.

Not to mention, she had to watch helplessly as this fool, oblivious and naive, stumbled step by step into this cannibalistic palace.

"I'm just watching the show, yes, just watching the show..."

Muttering these words as if trying to console herself, Consort Feng ultimately went mad.

"That idiot!"

"That stupid, idiotic fool!!!"

"Why couldn't she have been born smarter?!"

"Aaaaaaah!!!!"

*

"A-Zhu!"

Ah Zhu, who had just returned to the inner palace after delivering the food box back to the kitchen, was summoned.

Turning around, I saw Granny Yang rushing forward.

"During lunchtime, instead of eating properly, where did you run off to again?"

The more guilty she felt, the more honest her expression became. Ah Zhu explained dutifully, "Granny, I went to the Cold Palace to deliver meals. I just put the food box..."

Granny Yang waved her hand: "Alright, enough nonsense, come with me quickly."

"Granny, where are we going?" A-Zhu asked, following in Granny Yang's footsteps.

"The person in charge is looking for you."

Upon hearing this, A-Zhu unconsciously slowed down, even reflecting in her mind on whether she had done something wrong again.

"I just asked you again, and you..." As she spoke, Granny Yang noticed that there was no one beside her. She turned around, looked at the figure behind her, and shook her head with amusement.

"Alright, it's a good thing that the manager is looking for you."

Seeing that Granny Yang's smile seemed genuine, A-Zhu's eyes lit up instantly.

She quickly caught up with Granny Yang: "Granny, is it really good news?"

"Do you think I would hide anything from you, Granny?"

"Granny, what good news is it?"

Granny Yang thought that Steward Sun had some plans for A-Zhu, but she didn't know what they were yet, so she said, "Come on, come on, you'll know when the time comes."

A-Zhu followed Granny Yang to the inner court with light steps.

A note from the author:

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Thank you so much for your support, my little cuties! Thank you for feeding, watering, leaving comments and adding to favorites! Ahhh, I'm so happy it's not a single-player game! I'm spinning around and giving you all a kiss.